Symantec says that WSM operates on a 24-7 basis and allows subscriber organizations to respond rapidly to anything unusual happening with the websites.
According to Symantec, its 2009 global internet security threat report reported that 63% of the 12 885 site-specific vulnerabilities identified in the prior year alone affected web applications.
The study also reported that Symantec had identified 15 197 distinct new bot command-and-control servers, with 43% operating through IRC channels and 57% using HTTP.
This, says the firm, demonstrates that bots are hiding their communications in web traffic, making it nearly impossible to find them without web monitoring techniques to ferret out the malicious traffic.
And with the number and sophistication of web-based threats escalating, Symantec says that organizations are fighting back with a layered security approach that leverages web proxy, gateway and application firewall security technologies.
While deployment of these web security technologies undoubtedly helps to strengthen corporate defenses, Symantec says that the combination of real-time monitoring and notification from security analysts allows IT teams to quickly zero in on hard-to-find compromised systems.
Grant Geyer, vice president of Symantec's global managed security services, said that, as cyber criminals shift from targeting networks with high-volume spam and malware attacks to focusing more on stealth technologies, the web is the new front line where assets are being compromised to steal confidential information.
"The new Symantec WSM service gives customers the assurance that their endpoints and servers are protected from evolving web-based threats", he said.